2014 FIFA World Cup
Wayne Rooney (17 goals) | player = Neymar | prevseason = 2010 | nextseason = 2018 }} The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. 32 teams qualified for the tournament, with the hosts qualifying automatically. This was the second time the country had hosted the competition, the first being the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Brazil became the fifth country to have hosted the FIFA World Cup twice, after Mexico, Italy, France and Germany. It was the first World Cup to be held in South America since the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, the first time two consecutive World Cups were staged outside Europe and the first time two consecutive World Cups were staged in the Southern Hemisphere (the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa). Brazil won the tournament, claiming their sixth World Cup title. They beat Argentina 2–1 in the final. England beat Scotland 2–1 to finish third. Host selection See the Wikipedia article. Qualification See the Wikipedia article. Qualified teams ;Asia (5) * South Korea * Australia * Qatar * Iraq * Japan ;Africa (5) * South Africa * Nigeria * Côte d'Ivoire * Tunisia * Ghana ;North America (3) * United States * Mexico * Canada ;South America (5) * Brazil (hosts) * Venezuela * Uruguay * Argentina * Chile ;Oceania (1) * New Zealand ;Europe (13) * Bosnia and Herzegovina * Germany * Spain * Scotland * Portugal * England * Italy * France * Serbia * Netherlands * Sweden * Greece * Norway Summary First round The tournament began with the hosts Brazil beating New Zealand 2–1. The Brazilians went onto beat South Korea 3–0 and tournament debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina 4–3, and advanced into the second round with maximum points. South Korea joined them by beating Bosnia & Herzegovina 1–0 and New Zealand 2–0. In Group B, Germany picked up the maximum number of points, beating the USA 3–0 and seeing off both Venezuela and South Africa by the score of 1–0. The USA joined the Germans in the second round, with a 1–0 victory over Venezuela enough to secure a spot in the Round of 16. It also meant they finished on 4 points, after a 0–0 draw with South Africa in their second game. Group C was dubbed the "group of death", as it contained defending champions Spain, as well as Mexico, Nigeria, and Scotland. One might have thought that Spain topped the group. And they did, picking up 7 points thanks to 3–1 and 2–0 victories over Mexico and Nigeria respectively, and drawing 1–1 with Scotland. Surprisingly, the team who joined Spain in the second round were Scotland, who were playing in their ninth World Cup, and their first of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium. As well as the 1–1 draw with Spain, a 2–0 win over Nigeria and a 1–1 draw with Mexico meant that Scotland advanced into the second round of the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever. Group D contained Portugal, Australia, Côte d'Ivoire, and Canada. The Portuguese topped the group with 7 points. Canada caused a shock by finishing second in the group. This was only their second World Cup. In Group E, England were clear winners – picking up the maximum number of points by beating Uruguay 5–0, Tunisia 3–0, and tournament new boys Qatar 4–0. The shock runners-up of the group were Qatar, who joined the Three Lions in the second round instead of highly-fancied Uruguay. What made this more surprising was that Uruguay had finished 4th at the previous World Cup, while, as already mentioned, Qatar were appearing at their first-ever FIFA World Cup. The "group of death" label was applied to Group F, just as it was applied to Group C. Group F was called a "group of death" as it contained Argentina, Italy, Ghana, and Iraq. Argentina topped the group on 7 points, with Italy finishing behind the South Americans on goal difference. Because of this, Ghana failed to advance to the second round of the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever, although they had only appeared at two FIFA World Cups before (the previous two tournaments, in 2006 and 2010). Iraq scored only one goal - in a 3–1 defeat to Italy in their final group game. Group G was also considered by some to be a "group of death", as it contained France, Serbia, Chile, and Japan. In the matches between France, Serbia, and Chile, each team won one game and lost another, with France beating Serbia 3–1, Serbia triumphing over Chile 2–0, and Chile defeating France 2–1. As a result, the group positions were defined by the matches of these three teams against Japan. France beat Japan 3–0 to top the group, Chile drew 3–3 with the Asians and finished second, while Serbia lost 1–0 to Japan and finished last. Group H was made up of four European teams – the Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, and Norway. The Dutch won all three of their games to top the group, while Norway, appearing at their first World Cup since 1998, finished second. Sweden and Greece failed to win a match, with Greece picking up just one point, and Sweden gaining two. Second round and quarter-finals In the second round, Neymar scored four goals for hosts Brazil to beat the United States 4–0, while Spain thrashed Canada 6–1 with a hat-trick from Fernando Torres, a goal from Cesc Fàbregas, and two own goals from Canadian defender Chris Lopper. A Mario Gómez hat-trick helped Germany beat South Korea 3–2, while Scotland stunned Portugal 2–1 with late goals from Jordan Rhodes and Tom McAndrew. England beat Italy 3–1 thanks to a Wayne Rooney hat-trick, while France beat Norway 2–1. Argentina beat Qatar 7–0 thanks to five goals from star player Lionel Messi, while the Netherlands beat Chile 4–2. In the quarter-finals, Brazil beat Spain 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. In the England-France game, two early goals from England players Wayne Rooney and Danny Simpson effectively knocked out the French. Scotland continued their amazing run, with a shock 4–2 victory over Germany securing their place in the semi-finals. Argentina beat the Netherlands 2–0 to secure the final semi-final spot. Semi-finals, third place play-off, and final In the semi-finals, Brazil beat England 2–1 thanks to a last-minute own goal from England defender Phil Jones, with Brazil's Neymar scoring his twelfth of the tournament in that game, and England's Wayne Rooney his fifteenth in the same match. The other semi-final saw Argentina beat Scotland 1–0 thanks to a goal from Carlos Tévez. Argentina playmaker Ricardo Álvarez played in Tévez, who, despite being 34, was still fast. Tévez dribbled in between Scotland centre-backs Alan Muswell and Gary Caldwell, and fired the ball past Allan McGregor in the Scotland goal to secure Argentina's place in the final. The third place play-off was between European champions England and surprise packages Scotland. Scotland took the lead through Jordan Rhodes, but two goals from England's Wayne Rooney meant that England claimed the bronze medals, leaving Scotland in fourth place. In the final match, held at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Argentina took the lead through star player Lionel Messi, but a goal from Neymar and a dramatic last-minute goal from Lucas Moura which was headed in off the crossbar meant that Brazil won their sixth world title. It also meant that Brazil became the seventh nation to win the World Cup on home soil - meaning that Spain were, at the time, the only World Cup-winning nation to have not won the trophy as hosts. There was only one penalty shoot-out - the lowest since the four-round knockout tournament was introduced in 1986. Brazil goalkeeper-captain Júlio César lifted the World Cup in front of tens of thousands of cheering Brazilian fans at the Maracanã Stadium, and many more watching back home. Venues See the Wikipedia article. Group stage Group A Unsurprisingly, it was the hosts (Brazil) who topped Group A. They picked up the maximum number of points, and were followed into the second round by South Korea. Tournament debutants Bosnia & Herzegovina and minnows New Zealand picked up 1 point each, thanks to a 0–0 draw with each other. Brazil |score = 2 – 1 |report = |team2 = New Zealand |goals1 = Reid Neymar |goals2 = Volix |stadium = Arena Corinthians, São Paulo |attendance = 65,530 |referee = }} |stadium = Estádio das Dunas, Natal |attendance = 43,256 |referee = }} Brazil |score = 3 – 0 |report = |team2 = South Korea |goals1 = Lucas Neymar |goals2 = |stadium = Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza |attendance = 63,278 |referee = }} Pak |stadium = Estádio Nacional, Brasília |attendance = 68,140 |referee = }} Brazil |goals1 = Džeko Malvarić |goals2 = Neymar Lucas |stadium = Arena Pernambuco, Recife |attendance = 42,579 |referee = }} Group B Germany topped Group B, picking up the maximum number of points. In addition, they did not concede a goal in their 3 group games. The United States joined the Germans in the second round on 4 points, despite scoring only one goal. Özil Khedira |goals2 = |stadium = Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador |attendance = 54,296 |referee = }} |goals2 = Tshabalala |stadium = Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá |attendance = 41,369 |referee = }} |stadium = Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro |attendance = 75,435 |referee = }} |stadium = Arena da Baixada, Curitiba |attendance = 38,542 |referee = }} |goals2 = |stadium = Arena Corinthians, São Paulo |attendance = 64,907 |referee = }} Group C The expected group winners of Group C were Spain, who picked up 7 points, scored 6 goals, and let in 2. Scotland caused an upset by finishing second in the group and advancing into the second round of the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever. This was the Scots' ninth World Cup, and their first of the 21st century and the third millennium. Silva |goals2 = Hernández |stadium = Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte |attendance = 69,632 |referee = }} McAndrew |goals2 = |stadium = Arena Pernambuco, Recife |attendance = 43,210 |referee = }} Utaka |stadium = Estádio Nacional, Brasília |attendance = 70,003 |referee = }} |goals2 = Torres |stadium = Arena das Dunas, Natal |attendance = 44,356 |referee = }} |goals2 = |stadium = Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá |attendance = 41,899 |referee = }} |goals2 = Rhodes |stadium = Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza |attendance = 64,064 |referee = }} Group D Portugal toppped this somewhat moderate group, to mostly no-one's surprise. They picked up 7 points, with star player Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a mind-boggling seven goals in the three group games his country played. Canada caused an upset by finishing second in the group, picking up 5 points. This group saw 26 goals in 6 games - which, rounded to two decimal places, is an average of 4.33 goals per game. Nani |goals2 = Dombey |stadium = Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza |attendance = 62,875 |referee = }} Rowney |stadium = Arena Amazônia, Manaus |attendance = 42,170 |referee = }} |goals2 = Rowney Hanks Gordon Riazzie |stadium = Arena Corinthians, São Paulo |attendance = 64,321 |referee = }} Roflin |goals2 = Kalou Noftil |stadium = Arena Corinthians, São Paulo |attendance = 44,210 |referee = }} category:Leubantia